


If This Is Not Enchantment...

by brightasstars



Series: SHBingo Fics [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Battle, Christmas fic, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Immortal Husbands, M/M, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood in Love, New ShadoWorld Tradition, Parents feelings, Protective Parents, Snowball Fight, Teens sons, battle husbands, expressing emotions, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightasstars/pseuds/brightasstars
Summary: Square Filled: Christmas FicThe Traditional New York Institute Snowball Fight for Christmas Eve is about to start... but something unexpected is happening this year!
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: SHBingo Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072829
Comments: 19
Kudos: 84
Collections: SHBingo 20-21





	If This Is Not Enchantment...

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first BIngo Square Filled and... I'm so excited!
> 
> A special thanks to  
> [NvrLndBoi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NvrLndBoi/pseuds/NvrLndBoi) one line of this fic it's entirely HIS idea!!!

Rafe crossed the threshold of the Institute smiling at the girl who was guarding the entrance. No one ever stopped them, not even the youngest ones or the new ones coming from other Institutes scattered around the world. Everyone recognized him and Max from far away.

“Uncle Jace!” he called, seeing him standing near the monitors.

Jace turned, a wide smile spreading on his face as he closed the distance with his nephew. Rafe had become a very good fighter and was now on duty at the Mexico City Institute. The more he grew up, the more he looked like Alec, Jace was always impressed. The way he moved his shoulders, his neck, the way he walked through the corridors, his pitch-black hair ruffled on top, his quiet voice.

“Hey, Rafe! Good to see you, how are things going in Mexico?”

Rafe hugged him. “Good, really good. Is Max already here?”

Jace shook his head, “No, at least I haven’t seen him yet.”

As he finished talking they saw an azure portal opening in the middle of the monitor’s room, setting all the Institute alarms running. Max had arrived.

Jace rolled his eyes and turned to see a very pleased Max Lightwood-Bane stepping out from the portal.

He was laughing, his naughty eyes sparkling under his blue hair. It had become a habit, breaking the rule of portalling directly inside the Institute walls, just to have fun and see his dad running out of his office to tell him that no matter who they were, they were supposed to follow the rules. And he apologized, always. 

But no steps came running down the hallway, and no voice.

“He’s not here,” Izzy shouted from the training room, “They are both outside checking the perimeters and the playing field.”

Max made an expression which was half a pout and half a frown, “Gah, too bad, I should have checked before portalling. Hey Rafe, all good?”

He went to his brother and patted him on his shoulder.

“Yeah, all good…”

“I thought you’d come accompanied,” Max grinned. 

Rafe glared at him. 

“Oh Rafe,” Izzy chuckled stepping closer, caressing his cheek, “you really bring me back to when Alec was in your place, glaring to whomever dared to allude in front of him that he was secretly seeing Magnus.”

Max looked back at him, “Save the fury for the battle, we're not going to let you Shadowhunters win this year,” he stated moving toward the door that led to the gardens.

It had become a tradition, every Christmas Eve of the last ten years , Alec and Magnus organized a _Snowball Fight_ between Shadowhunters and Downworlders in the gardens of the Institute. Magnus magicked a huge playfield where they fought at first in groups, until only two of them were left and battled it out to define the winner. It was fun and a special way to strengthen the alliances, to celebrate Christmas, a mundane holiday, in their own way.

Last year, the battle ended with Izzy unexpectedly taking down Catarina. 

Each group was allowed to use magic, tricks, runes, everything, as far as nothing was done to hurt each other.

Alec and Magnus had wanted this as a celebration of their differences and their powers, a demonstration of how diversities were a strength, a resource.

Rafe and Max strolled out on the snow along with Jace and Simon, laughing and talking about their last months, asking when were their cousins coming as their feet made a soft sound on the snow.

“You broke in in the hall, again,” a gravel voice towered from behind a tree, “don’t think I didn’t notice," and then a hard hand on his shoulder shoved him on the snow.

"Dad!" Max shouted, coughing and spitting some snow crystals from his mouth. He stood up on his legs and a pair of strong warm arms engulfed him in a tight hug. 

"Welcome home, my blueberry," Alec whispered only for Max to hear.

"Is this the welcome you have reserved to me?" Max whined, trying to disguise the chuckle that was lingering under his lips.

"You can dry yourself with a flick of your fingers, it's not such a big deal…," Alec replied, pulling back.

As their gazes met, they burst into a loud laughter and hugged again, and Max changed his clothes.

When Alec turned, Rafe was looking at him with such tenderness that Alec felt a knot in his stomach.

"We're going to win again dad," Rafe said and pulled his father in another hug.

As his son's thick arms encircled him, Alec's mind reflected upon the unique sensation he got each time he hugged one of his two sons. They were different, even in the way their hugs felt.

Max's arms were thin, and he used to close them around Alec's low waist, burying his face into his father's chest, as if he was still the source of protection and shelter.

Rafe instead preferred to close them around his neck, pulling him close chest to chest and resting his forehead on his shoulder, pushing it down into the hollow of his collar bone, as when as a child, he tried to push away the nightmares.

Alec was so glad that Magnus had slowly taught him how to express his feelings physically. He had been grown up as if he was an ethereal being, not made of a carnal body to be held, touched or hugged. 

Shadowhunters kids were mind, soul, rationality, devotion, duty… he remembered some days he almost felt invisible to the ones that surrounded him.

When Magnus came into his life, he discovered how much he loved to touch and be touched, how much a simple gesture could change his day, and make a difference in their relationship, to the point that sometimes words became unnecessarily; and this had been the way they had grown Rafe and Max. Hugs, kisses, gentle caresses, and holding hands.

“I heard you’re doing wonders in Mexico City, I was sure 'bout this, but, just so you know, we’re really proud of you, Rafe, “Alec said

“Speaking of _us_ … Where is Bapak?"

Alec spun on his heel and looked straight into the playfield, “Putting on his snow combat gear,” he chuckled softly, “you know how much he hates the cold and the feeling of being wet after a snow battle.”

Rafe widened his eyes, "So what I heard through the grapevines is true… you two are really fighting this year."

Alec smiled back at him, "Yes, we are. It's the tenth year anniversary of this traditional battle and we thought it would be nice to take an active part in it."

"I'm not letting the Shadowhunters win again," a soft voice came from behind the same tree where Alec was.

As soon as Magnus appeared, Rafe was on him, burying his nose in his jacket. Alec heard them exchange soft quiet words in Spanish as Magnus threaded his fingers through their son's hair.

Max stepped closer too and Magnus' arms widened a little bit more, enough to pull the younger warlock in.

"My kids," he whispered.

"Rafe, don't fraternize with your enemy," they heard Jace say.

Magnus glared at his brother in law, "Be sure my first blow is gonna kick you right in your butt, Blondie."

"Yeeeessssss," Jace replied delighted, "the fight is so much better when the High Warlock gets pissed off."

As they all laughed, a quick series of _wooshes_ filled the air, and warlocks, seelies, vampires and werewolves stepped out from a carousel of portals, all in their traditional uniforms that Clary had designed since this had started.

After a second of silence as the eyes took in all the faces, the atmosphere turned instantly chaotic, with hands greetings, chuckles and chitchats all around the playfield.

The crowd knew where to move and in a few minutes they were all settled into the battlefield, Alec and Magnus standing on the furthest back of the playing camp. The purpose was to spare them the first shots and let them get directly to the _juicy part_ of the snow war that was about to start.

Before the hostilities began, Alec took a moment to greet everyone, thanking them all for coming and for the collaboration, the help, and the commitment they all put in the year that was coming to its end. 

Then the Shadowhunters activated their runes and Magnus yelled from the far end of the field, " _Snowball fight!_ ", and in seconds, the air became thick with snowballs so compacted that many of them felt almost solid. Some balls were colored and changed trajectory under the pulse of magic, some transformed into giants white icy monsters that engaged in a fight with the Nephilims, while others just disappeared in the air to splatter right in the face of an opponent warrior. 

Vampires were always the last to surrender as the cold and the wet didn't affect them at all; werewolves shifted to take advantage of their fur and heightened strength, while seelies shots, made of freshly fallen flakes, always burst open at the impact, showering everyone with crystalline fragments that glinted in the wintry light.

Alec was fighting his way to the final battle taking down many Downworlders, but he seemed to avoid his husband. Magnus, on his part, had started with the high ranks of the Shadowhunters, defeating them one by one. Izzy first, then Clary and Underhill, then Jace and in the end, his beloved son, Rafe.

"Bapak," he heard him whine, "and I thought you'd spare me…"

"Everything is allowed in love and war my little one, and we're undoubtedly in _war_."

Rafe laughed falling on his back onto a huge hill of snow gathered on the side of the battling field.

He searched for his brother and spotted him cornered against a tree, as he was pleading Alec to spare him, "Dad you can't, I'm your little blueberry," but his dad shot him with such precision and strength that he was thrown behind the borders that delimited the playground. 

Then Rafe saw Alec shrugging and leaning down, extending an open hand to his son, and pulling him up.

Several minutes later, the field was empty, only Magnus and Alec left to fight.

"We're going to make this last battle the mundane way, " Magnus heard his husband shout at him, "uhm? What do you say?", and he nodded from afar.

Then he moved to hide behind a huge tree trunk, as Alec deactivated all his runes. His gloved magic hands were buried deep in the snow, frantically making a stockpile of balls to use. 

Magnus knew too well he had to be fast and unpredictable to prevent Alec aim to work properly, otherwise his husband wouldn't have missed a shot. Alec, instead, was slowly approaching the tree, gathering some snow on his way to Magnus, focusing on the best angle to get the strike right where he wanted it.

The first snowball Magnus threw, smacked Alec right on the side of his head, the hard and cold impact turning his ears to a bright red, as the snow exploded on his cheek, sprinkling his hair with white.

Alec didn't even flinch, but kept on closing the distance between them, slowly but relentlessly, one hand holding the ball that was growing bigger, and one hand parrying the shots.

When he decided he was close enough, he crouched on the ground, behind a huge stone, disappearing from Magnus' sight just for the time he needed to give a last glance to his target. He took another look around and then raised his ball, now as huge as a watermelon, and then released it, hitting Magnus full on his face, shoving him backward and against the tree with a loud thud. The snow on the branches fell on him, covering him up and pinning him against the bark and into the ground.

"You did not just throw that at me, did you?" he heard Magnus yell before bursting into one full-hearted, untamed laughter. 

Lorenzo Rey took the horn and blew in it, to declare the Nephilims' victory, and as soon as the sound dissolved in the wind, everyone had already rushed inside to change their clothes and headed to the training room where the reception took place.

Alec closed the distance between them, kneeling in the cold snow to help Magnus on his feet, kissing the crystals away from his face with tender, chaste movements of his lips, breathing some hot air against his husband's freezing skin.

"Aren't you enchanting, covered in white snow? Here, let me warm you up," Alec murmured softly in his ears, as he slid his arms beneath him and scooped him up, cradling him against his chest.

"Alexander…," Magnus breathed out, his cheeks red for the cold and the romance, "...put me down, everyone is looking at us from behind those huge windows…"

Alec kissed him on his forehead, just before tightening the grip, "Good," he answered, "let's show them the exact reasons why we've been on the Clave's naughty list for the last twenty years."

He smiled tenderly, before leaning forward again, "Happy Christmas, Magnus."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @brightasstars
> 
> If you're 18 join us on the [ The Hunter's Moon Discord](https://discord.gg/RhZPtsd)  
> 


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